Lewis raymond



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LEWIS RAYMOND, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

= LIFE-BOAT. Y

#Specification ofrLetters Patent No. 2,988, dated February 4, 1843.

To all whom z'lfmag/ concern:

Be it -lrnow'nthat-I, Lnwis RAYMOND, of

the `lcity, county, and State-of-New York,

have invented a newfland useful Improvement in L1e-Boats, of which the following is a full Aand accurate description, reference being haditothe accompanying drawings, `making part. of thisfspecication.

In the forni of the boat itself there is nothing new as' it may be made after any of 1 the knownmodels-air cases'- are employed,

as in boats hitherto constructed, but are arranged lin such aamanner as to add both to the strength and buoyancy of the boat. In

`combination'with these a series of self acting valves are used adapted to apertures in the bottom :of the boat, constituting an imyportant lfeature ot my'V invention.

In lthe accompanying l drawings A A Figure l is the boat so drawnl as to give a view of its interior, the ribs or timbers b and air cases c 0 on one side being shown.

`f The ribs-are constructed and arranged in the usual manner and between each 1of them an air caseis placed as shown at Fig. 2, where one of the air cases is seen detached from the boat with one of the timbers b b on each side of it as when in place. Thesel air cases consist of a front plate d Figs. 2 and 3 facing the interior of the boat, and of a back plate c opposite to this; both of which plates are curved so as to give the cases t-he same bend as the ribs or timbers Z) b. They are connected at each end by side plates CZ d Fig. 2 only one or which is seen forming a case closed at top and bottom by plates e and f Fig. 2. The side plates l Z are very narrow at bottom enlarging in width as they eXtend upwards and have their edges curved to adapt them to the curvature of the front and back plates. The cases c c are necessarily larger on top than bottom causing the bottom plate f to be much smaller than the top plate e. The cases so constructed when in place tit tight-ly between the ribs or timbers b b with their back plates fitting against the inside of the planking of the boat and their front plates a a facing the interior of the boatV where they are covered by the ceiling which is laid over them but which is removed in Fig. 1 to show the air cases. The air cases c c extend to within a few inches of the keel of the boat but do not reach any higher than the rising g Fig. l on which the seats are placed-the tops of the cases being on a level with the bottoms of the seats which;

are not represented'in the drawing. Two cases /L h in the bow-.and two marked i in the stern .of the boat on each side rise above the ot-hers and are` on a level-at top with the gunwale m m of the boat; the object of this arrangement being to enable the boat to be righted when capsized, by apply-V ing only a slight force to one side of it; as

the stern and bow cases will under thosevcir- Vcumstances be immersed before the others,

and will ,necessarily support the boat which may be righted without any difficulty `in the manner stated. At their lowest point near the' keel of the boat the cases project very little beyond the surface of the timbers Z) as they enlarge however in extending Yup ward this projection increases and they necessarily project some distance `at top in front of the timbers.

The object of con-l structing them in this manner, that isv mak# ing them of a curved form like the timbers I) `and larger above than belowl istov increase the buoyancy of the boat as the quantity of water init increases and to obtain the same amountV of buoyancy also--in the lower part ofthe boat, without occupying as much space; as in life boats of the ordinary construction. The curved form of the inside of the cases allows of this being effected by bringing the ends of the cases near the keel, which if they were constructed otherwise with a plane or straight side could not be done without great inconvenience and loss of room inthe boat.. The number of cases employed compensates for their want of size, a great amount of displacement being obtained in this way than where large air. cases are used as in life boats hitherto constructed, the arrangement of the cases allowing of a greater number being employed, forty cases .being the complement of a boat twenty ve feet in length, the size most in use. Another advantage is also derived from this arrangement. It one of these cases should be injured the safety of the boat will not be endangered as it would be were a few large air cases employed as it can be removed and repaired more readily than in the other case. I/Vhen the boat is partially filled with water itwill be prevented froin capsizing also by the manner in which the air cases are constructed, in the event of more weight being placed o-n one side than the other; for the water being thrown on one side, the cases on the opposite side will operate by their gravity in preserving the equilibrium of the boat; while those on the same or submerged side will produce the same effect by their buoyancy the construction of the cases assisting materially to produce this effect owing to their being made larger and heavier at top than bottom.

In the bottom of the boat I make openings on each side of the keel above or below the water line and adapt to them valves made of leather and cork or other buoyant material. Those below the water line of the boat are kept closed when the boat is in the water but open, when the boat is lifted by the sea so as to expose them7 and permit whatever water is in the boat to flow out. Those above the water line open and let out the water whenever it rises in the boat higher than the water level7 being opened by the pressure of the water. In Fig. l o 'u are cylindrical boxes adapted to the apertures in the bottom of the boat. They are constructed like the boxes used in pumps provided with clack valves w w shown in the sectional drawings Figs. 5 and 6 arranged in the same manner only that the position of the boxes is changed the part of the box which is uppermost in Vpumps being turned downwards to allow of the valves opening in that direction. Vhen in place the boxes project on the inside of the boat above the valves so as to protect them from injury while on the outside of the boat theyv are below the level of the planking producing the same effect. In Fig. 1 u o are the boxes arranged in the manner described.

In Fig. 4 one of the boxes is shown detached. At Fig. 5 a vertical section of the valve and box is given and at Fig. 6 a secpressed from its seat. The valves so arranged may be used in every variety of` boat by adapting the boxes in which they are placed to openings made in the boat as already set forth and when combined with life boats of the construction described are found to be a great improvement.

An advantage is derived from the arrangement of the cases c c besides those already enumerated. As the tops of these cases are on a level with the bottoms of the benches they serve to support the latter while from their being arrangedv between before described in combination with the air-boxes as specified and set forth.

' LEWIS RAYMOND. Witnesses:

SAM WEBB, JAMES EDsALL.

40 c tion of the box showing the valve fw de- Y 

